March 2019 Briefing – Allergy

Apr 1, 2019

Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Allergy for March 2019. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.

Dietary Fatty Acid Intake Linked to Pediatric Asthma Morbidity

FRIDAY, March 29, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Intake of omega-3 and omega-6 is associated with pediatric asthma morbidity and may modify the response to indoor particulate matter (PM), according to a study published online March 29 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

THURSDAY, March 28, 2019 (HealthDay News) — A contact lens (CL)-based drug delivery system is effective for therapeutic delivery of the antihistamine ketotifen, according to a study published online March 19 in Cornea.

THURSDAY, March 28, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Physicians with one or more paid malpractice claims are more likely to leave practice or shift into smaller practice settings, according to a study published in the March 28 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

TUESDAY, March 26, 2019 (HealthDay News) — The 2019 healthiest community in America is Douglas County, Colorado, according to a report published online March 26 by U.S. News & World Report, in conjunction with the Aetna Foundation.

MONDAY, March 25, 2019 (HealthDay News) — The 2019 Main Residency Match was the largest in history, with a record high of 38,376 applicants for 35,185 positions, according to 2019 Match Day results released by the National Resident Matching Program.

Many Patients Still Employ Strategies to Reduce Prescription Drug Costs

FRIDAY, March 22, 2019 (HealthDay News) — The number of adults reporting the use of strategies, such as requesting a lower-cost medication or not using medication as prescribed, to reduce prescription drug costs remained stable in 2015 to 2017, according to a March data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics.

WEDNESDAY, March 20, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Overall, physicians are happy and enjoy their lives, according to the 2019 American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)/CompHealth Physician Happiness Survey published online March 19.

TUESDAY, March 19, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Analgesics taken during pregnancy, including opioids, antimigraine drugs, and paracetamol, do not appear to cause asthma, according to a study published online March 17 in the European Respiratory Journal.

MONDAY, March 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Exposure to ultrafine particles (UFPs; <0.1 μm) during the second trimester in utero is linked to the subsequent onset of asthma in children, according to a study published online Feb. 20 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

MONDAY, March 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Oral forms of medications contain an average of 8.8 inactive ingredients, many of which could cause adverse reactions, according to a perspective piece published in the March 13 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

FRIDAY, March 15, 2019 (HealthDay News) — From 2014 to 2017, there was an increase in physician burnout, with early-career physicians being the most susceptible, according to a study published online March 15 in JAMA Network Open.

THURSDAY, March 14, 2019 (HealthDay News) — High-dose vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy is not associated with a child’s risk for asthma at age 6 years, according to a research letter published in the March 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

WEDNESDAY, March 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will temporarily be overseen by the head of the National Cancer Institute when FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., leaves the post next month.

WEDNESDAY, March 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Most Americans report having excellent or good health and have a usual place to go for medical care, according to a report published March 13 for the National Health Interview Survey Early Release Program.

WEDNESDAY, March 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) — More than one in five infants with a bronchiolitis hospital admission will have a subsequent respiratory-related hospital admission by age 5 years, according to a study published online March 6 in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

WEDNESDAY, March 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) — People living in homes with high average air exchange rates (AAERs) are more likely to report chronic cough, asthma, or asthma-like symptoms, according to a study published in the February issue of Environmental Research.

MONDAY, March 11, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Urban children with asthma, particularly those who are ethnic minorities, have more school absences than their peers without asthma, according to a study published online March 11 in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.

TUESDAY, March 5, 2019 (HealthDay News) — In what probably came as a surprise to many, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., announced his resignation on Tuesday. Gottlieb is leaving the FDA because he wants to spend more time with his wife and three young daughters — twins aged 9 and a 5-year-old — one official said. He currently commutes each week from the family home in Connecticut to his Washington, D.C., office.

TUESDAY, March 5, 2019 (HealthDay News) — For peanut-allergic children, use of epicutaneous immunotherapy with a peanut patch is associated with a statistically significant increase in the percentage of responders (meeting a defined eliciting dose to a peanut challenge) at 12 months, according to a study published online Feb. 22 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

FRIDAY, March 1, 2019 (HealthDay News) — A new electronic decision support tool can improve the quality of asthma care in primary care settings, according to a study published online Feb. 14 in the European Respiratory Journal.

FRIDAY, March 1, 2019 (HealthDay News) — A large Canadian drug distributor sells unapproved and mislabeled medicines to Americans, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Thursday. The distributor disputes the claim, however.